After months of bombardment, troops holed up in the last Ukrainian stronghold in the besieged port of Mariupol began fleeing on Monday, seemingly ceding control of the formerly prosperous city to Russia.

53 injured troops from the Azovstal steelworks were evacuated to a hospital in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk, 32 kilometers (20 miles) to the east, according to Ukraine’s deputy defense minister.

According to Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar, another 211 persons were brought to the town of Olenivka, which is located in a territory held by Russian-backed separatists. She noted that all of the evacuees could be susceptible to a possible prisoner exchange with Russia.

Five buses carrying troops from Azovstal arrived in Novoazovsk late Monday, according to Reuters. Some of the evacuated troops were injured, and they were carried out on stretchers. It was estimated that 600 troops were inside the steel facility.

In a late-night address, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, “We hope that we will be able to rescue the lives of our guys.” “Among them are some who have been gravely injured. They’re being looked after. Ukraine requires living Ukrainian heroes.”

The Ukrainian military said it had “directed the commanders of the forces stationed at Azovstal to spare the lives of the servicemen,” and that the troops had completed their combat duty.

The military noted that efforts to rescue servicemen remaining inside were underway. It did not specify how many troops were still on the ground.

The Ukrainian military says they held out for 82 days in Azovstal, buying time for the rest of Ukraine to fight Russian forces and collect Western weapons to fend off Russia’s invasion.

However, the evacuation most likely marked the conclusion of the Ukraine war’s longest and bloodiest fight, as well as a huge defeat for Ukraine. After a Russian siege, Mariupol is lying in ruins, with Ukraine claiming that tens of thousands of people were killed in the city.

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